Tokyo Star Bank Provides US$4.8Mln Revolving Credit Facility to MicroCredit Enterprises

Originally published: March 15, 2005

Source: MicroCredit Enterprises

MicroCredit Enterprises, a California based not-for-profit venture that provides philanthropic guarantor-backed microloans to aid third-world poor, announced today a US$4.8 million revolving credit facility has been established with the Tokyo Star Bank, a leading Japanese financial institution. The financing will assist MicroCredit Enterprises in helping the estimated 1.1 billion desperately poor people who survive on less than US$1 a day.

Tokyo Star Bank’s International Business Team was instrumental in the execution of the transaction, underscoring the Bank’s commitment to corporate social responsibility on a global scale. The revolving credit facility allows MicroCredit Enterprises to on-lend money to the poor, mostly women, in developing countries, through microloans. The impoverished loan recipients generally have no credit history, no collateral and no formal education.

"We’re extremely excited to be partnering with the Tokyo Star Bank, a company that shares our desire and dedication to reversing the cycle of poverty in economically distressed countries," said Jonathan Lewis, Founder & CEO, MicroCredit Enterprises. MicroCredit Enterprises’ model includes the necessary aspects of sustainability, ensuring the loans reach entrepreneurs who will build businesses which quickly affect positive development in their communities.